CaseB 
 
 B 3 am iTM 
 
 'w'^v '•■'.< 
 
 'v'V. * . 
 
 I-' 
 
 p^^aiai' 
 
 .^^'^•'i>.;-- 
 
 ^ 
 
 »> 
 
 
 r -■ * '■.K\ 
 
 ■C',: ^^..:^.■jiir^.^ 
 
 
^M, 
 
 / 
 
 '"-TT. 
 
THE THREE KINGS 
 
 B^ HENRY WADS WORTH LONGFELLOW 
 
 X 
 
THREE KINGS came riding from far away : 
 Melchior and Caspar and Baltasar ; 
 Three Whe Men out of the EaSi were they, 
 And they traveled by night and they slept by day, 
 For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star. 
 
 The star was so beautiful, large and clear. 
 
 That all the other stars of the sky 
 Became a white miSt in the atmo^here, 
 And by this they knew that the coming was near 
 
 Of the Frince foretold in the prophecy. 
 
 Three caskets they bore on their saddle-bows. 
 
 Three caskets of gold with golden keys; 
 Their robes were of crimson silk with rows 
 Of bells and pomegranates and furbelows, 
 Their turbans like blossoming almond trees. 
 
 3054 
 
And so the Three Kings rode into the We!f, 
 
 Through the dusk of night, over hill and dell, 
 And sometimes they nodded with beard on hreaSt, 
 And sometimes talked, as they paused to relf. 
 With the people they met at some wayside well. 
 
 'Of the child that is born, "said Baltasar, 
 
 "Good people, I pray you, tell m the news ; 
 For we in the EaSl have seen his star. 
 And have ridden faB and have ridden far. 
 To find and worship the King of the Jews. " 
 
 And the people answered, "You ask in vain; 
 
 We know of no king but Herod the Great ! " 
 They thought the Wise Men were men insane. 
 And they spurred their horses across the plain, 
 
 Like riders in haste, and who cannot wait. 
 
 And when they came to Jerusalem, 
 
 Herod the Great, who had heard this thing, 
 
o 
 
 Sent for the Wise Men and questioned them; 
 And said, "Go down unto Bethlehem, 
 And bring me tidings of this new king. " 
 
 So they rode away ; and the star stood still, 
 
 The only one in the gray of morn ; 
 Yes, it stopped, and stood still of its own free will, 
 Right over Bethlehem on the hill. 
 
 The city of David, where ChriSi was born. 
 
 And the Three Kings rode through the gate 
 and the guard, 
 Through the silent street, till their horses turned 
 And neighed as they entered the great inn-yard; 
 But the windows were closed, and the doors 
 were barred, 
 And only a light in the stable burned. 
 
 And cradled there in the scented hay. 
 
 In the air made sweet by the breath ofkine. 
 
o 
 
 The little child in the manger lay, 
 The child that would be king one day 
 Of a kingdom not human but divine. 
 
 His mother, Mary of Nazareth, 
 
 Sat watching beside hi^ place ofreB, 
 Watching the even flow of his breath, 
 For the joy of life and the terror of death 
 Were mingled together in her breaB. 
 
 They laid their offerings at his feet : 
 The gold was their tribute to a King, 
 
 The frankincense, with its odor sweet. 
 
 Was for the PrieSt, the Paraclete, 
 The myrrh for the body's burying. 
 
 And the mother wondered and bowed her head, 
 
 And sat as still as a statue of stone ; 
 Her heart was troubled yet comforted, 
 
 6 
 
Remembering what the Angel had said 
 Of an endless reign and of David's throne. 
 
 Then the Kings rode out of the city gate, 
 
 With a clatter of hoofs in proud array ; 
 But they went not back to Herod the Great, 
 For they knew his malice and feared his hate. 
 And returned to their homes by another way. 
 
 
FOUR HUNDRED COPIES OF THIS BOOK PRINTED 
 
 FOR HIS FRIENDS BY WILLIAM EDWIN RUDGE 
 
 NEW YORK- CHRISTMAS MCMXXII 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
 RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED 
 
 LOAN DEPT. 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below, or 
 
 on the date to which renewed. 
 
 Renewed books are subject to immediate recall. 
 
 ii}-' ■' • 
 
 LiJ u'j -yriiEi 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 LD 21A-45m-9,'67 ., .General Library 
 (Hr>067slO)476B Unjversity of California 
 
 Berkeley 
 
M 3954 
 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY 
 

 
 i^,^'^ r 
 
 
 
 ^-",;<* v»,»- if .\ J--. 1^. c -7^^ \-. f:--;* r:.-, ., ...■■- *\